Many of us spend our efforts chasing for a goal in life. For the typical Singaporean, most of us try to look for the 5C’s- cash, condominium, credit card, car and a country club membership. But, as for the Education Minister, the four C’s he thinks students need to excel are confidence, compassion, compartments and company.

In a newspaper article, a few older students from ages 16-24 commented on their own C’s and explained what they meant. Most of them agreed with the Minister's C’s. One of them was a person studying at the University of Huddersfield. He said that his own C’s were career, curriculum, character and company. He defines career as working in a company where he can learn and be happy in. He also said that curriculum referred to the aptitude for learning, no matter at work or in life. He says that character was his conduct in society; how people saw him and how others saw him. Lastly, he feels that company refers to his family and friends.

Another student commented that he felt that his classmates needed cheekiness. He noticed that his classmates were very tense during class. Everyone was afraid to speak during class and all eyes were on the professor, writing notes. Even the professor’s jokes only sent nervously scattered laughs around the class.

As for me, I feel that my C’s in life are care, company, consciousness and carefulness. We need to care for our friends, family, our health, and most importantly, the earth, our shared home. All of us also need to have some company, such as family members and friends, so that we would have someone to talk to, play with, laugh with and also sharing with your parents your troubles. During lessons in school, we need to be conscious of our surroundings. We should not daydream and think about other unimportant matters. Instead, we should be aware of our surroundings and listen to the teacher. Finally, I feel that in whatever we do, we must be careful. For example, when you are doing a test, we should be careful about what we write to prevent careless mistakes; when crossing the road, we must be careful about our safety and look out for oncoming cars.

What do you feel are the most important C's in your life? Please comment about them.